This collection was purchased as Lot 18 in the American Art Association sale of January 9, 1923.

Access

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information
please go to following
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Publication Rights

In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission
from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical
property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances,
the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate
curator for further information.

Lawrence F. Bower began about 1889 a small collection of autographs, specializing in those of men who had held naval or military
commissions (particularly rear-admirals), during the War of 1812 and the Civil War. He wrote personally to many of the retired
Civil War officers who were living in the last decade of the nineteenth century, requesting their autographs, and, in addition,
collected a few letters of historical value. Judging from the contents of the answers to these requests, Mr. Bower was only
a boy at the time.

General Description of the Manuscripts

The letters addressed to Mr. Bower, which comprise 34 pieces, or over one-half of the collection, are dated from 1889 to 1904;
while the items of historical value (28 pieces) cover quite evenly the period of 1802-1898, with the exception of a gap between
1829 and 1855.

Persons Represented

All the men in the following list are included in standard American biographical dictionaries. Those represented only by letters
addressed to Mr. Bower which are of interest only for the autograph, have been omitted,

BAINBRIDGE, William

BARNEY, Joshua

BOYD, John Parker

CHAILLE-LONG, Charles

DU PONT, Samuel Francis

FRANKLIN, Samuel Rhoads

HARMAR, Josiah

HOWARD, Oliver Otis

HULL, Isaac

JOHNSON, Bradley Tyler

JOHNSTON, Joseph Eggleston

LANE, James Henry

LONGSTREET, James

MACDONOUGH, Thomas

MEADE, George Gordon

MEIGS, Josiah

MELVILLE, George Wallace

PERRY, Matthew Calbraith

PERRY, Oliver Hazard

POPE, John

PORTER, David

PORTER, David Dixon

PREBLE, George Henry

RODGERS, Christopher Raymond Perry

SCOTT, Winfield

SHERIDAN, Philip Henry

SIGEL, Franz

Interesting or Important Items

BAINBRIDGE, William (1774-1833) To Benjamin Williams Crownishield, Secretary of the Navy, in support of the application of Alexander Gordon for a midshipman's
warrant 1817, Aug 1

BARNEY, Joshua (1759-1818) List of papers concerning his claims against the French government, etc., with instructions for his agent 1802, July 9

CHAILLE-LONG, Charles (1842-1917) To F P >Noble, Secretary of the World's Congress Auxiliary at Chicago, referring to his article on The Origin and Progress
of African Exploration and Discovery... 1893, July 3

FRANKLIN, Samuel Rhoads (1825-1909) To Capt Smith of the U.S.S Bermuda, instructing him to transfer his passengers and stores for New Orleans to another ship
and proceed to the coast of Texas 1865, Jan 31

MEIGS, Josiah (1757-1822), and Stephen DECATUR (1779-1820) To James Monroe, then Secretary of State, recommending Col Samuel Green, editor of the
Connecticut Gazette, as the publisher of the laws of the United States in Connecticut 1816, Feb 22